"Our merchants and master-manufacturers complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price, and thereby lessening the sale of their goods both at home and abroad. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gains. They complain only of those of other people." "Whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counselors are always the masters. When the regulation, therefore, is in favor of the workmen, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favor of the masters." "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind." "No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the greater part of the members are poor and miserable. It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, cloath and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well fed, cloathed and lodged."Adam Smith was one of the earliest and strongest proponents of Capitalism, but even he knew that excess is destructive to society. If only more of the current Titans of Industry(tm) knew this as well.
Why would we want to “cure” it?
These differences are called: price signals.
We can all be “rich.” People should select useful careers. Electrical engineering instead of women’s studies.
And if you do see income “differences” — it’s not ‘the economy’ that’s the problem. It’s your MAJOR:
If you selected a GOOD (high-yield, useful) Major, it would be a “good” economy. wouldn’t it?
;-)
But no, you selected Feminist Haiku Studies. Now you live in your dad’s basement and are still unemployed at age 40.